From the Alaska Wilderness League (http://www.alaskawild.org):
Trump has issue an executive order to roll back protections for the Arctic Ocean. He also instructed his administration to review expanding offshore drilling – making it easier to drill in our coastal waters.
In the fragile Arctic Ocean, drilling would occur 1,000 miles from the nearest Coast Guard. That’s risky. Scientists have projected that a (very likely) spill could coat the shores of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in less than 90 days – where seals pup and polar bears come to seek food after their long winter fast.
However, forward-thinking legislators have been introducing new legislation to protect our coasts from new oil drilling. Sign our petition at http://act.alaskawild.org/sign/no_new_oceandrilling to tell Sens. Casey and Toomey to support bills that protect our oceans!
Drilling in the Arctic ignores the science and the sentiment of most Americans who understand that we shouldn’t irresponsibly drill in our special places. The federal government—by its own estimate—has said that there is “up to a 75 percent risk of a major spill if drilling were to move forward in the Chukchi Sea in Alaska.”
As we have seen, with Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon, it is not a question of whether we will spill, but when.
There is no such thing as an effective clean up; once oil has been spilled, the battle has been lost. Make sure your senators support legislation that prevents new oil drilling in our coastal waters.
Thank you in advance for taking action!
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